Origin

The ancestor of beer came from a Latin term used in monasteries. Classical Latin bibere ‘to drink’, is also behind beverage (Middle English), bibulous (late 17th century), and imbibe (Late Middle English). Although beer appears in Old English, it was not common before the 16th century, the usual word in earlier times being ale, which now refers to a drink made without hops. The late 16th-century proverb ‘Turkey, heresy, hops, and beer came into England all in one year’ reflects the difference. Ale continues to be applied to paler kinds of liquors for which the malt has not been roasted. Some areas still use beer and ale interchangeably. See also bib